During the processing of photographic material the material passes through various processing stages, such as a developing stage, a fixing stage, a washing stage and a drying stage. In many of these stages the material is immersed in a processing solution. Different processing solutions are required in order to process different types of photographic material. Thus, for example, a developing solution which is suitable for the development of color photographic film may not be suitable for developing black and white film. Similarly a different fixing solution may be required for the different types of film. It will therefore be appreciated that if a photographic processing apparatus incorporates a single tank for receiving the developing solution and a single tank for receiving the fixing solution, then it will be necessary to empty and re-fill each of the tanks with appropriate solution whenever a different type of photographic material is to be processed in the apparatus. Clearly this is inconvenient and time consuming and involves the repeated handling of processing solutions which can in some cases be hazardous and require careful handling.
In a photographic processing apparatus of this type it is known to guide a length or web of film or paper in grooves which define a predetermined path to be followed by the film or paper. Thus, opposed longitudinal edges of a web of film or paper will be received within opposed grooves formed in walls located on opposite sides of the processing apparatus, the walls typically being formed of a plastics material. The web is conveyed along the path defined by the grooves by way of appropriate drive rollers or the like. While this arrangement represents a simple and effective way of guiding the web of film or paper along a predetermined path, it is designed for situations where the web of material is to be conveyed sequentially from one processing tank to another and once a processing apparatus has been constructed with this type of conveying/guide means, a fixed path is defined along which the web of material must pass.
Such an arrangement does not allow for variation of the path to be followed and would not therefore enable, for example, one particular processing tank to be bypassed. Another problem which arises with an apparatus constructed in this way is that those parts of the grooves which are located outside of the processing solutions can become contaminated with crystalline deposits or oxidized chemicals and with existing designs it is particularly difficult thoroughly to clean these sections of the path defined by the grooves.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved processing apparatus, particularly, but not exclusively, one which is suitable for use in processing a web of photographic material and which addresses the points discussed above.